I'm going to preface this by saying I am one of the least competitive gamers ever. Sure, I enjoy playing against human opponents in FPS games, fighting games, and to a lesser extent MMOs. However, that's only a small part of the issue I'd like to share today. I'm aware there's already an UMvC3 thread, but I want this to cover fighting games in general.
Also, there will be a "get to the goddamn point/tl;dr" summation at the bottom. Feel free to skip to that to avoid a major, useless rant.
So I found out last night that they're making a new Marvel vs Capcom 3 game (titles Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3). Now, I'm no HUGE fan of the series - I knew about MvC2 but never played it - but I really enjoy MvC3 as far as fighting games go. It's fun to pop in every now and then and play through arcade mode, or have a little one on one versus my wife (who also loves the game). We're not very good at it at all compared to the more "serious" people who play it, but we have tons of fun just playing.
It was announced that the "new" game will have 12 new characters, 6 or 8 new stages (I can't remember the exact number), and a "revamped combat system." The game will retail at $39.99. I mentioned to some of my friends that I was a little upset that I had been waiting for more DLC (which is usually cheaper than buying a whole new damn game) for the original MvC3 and instead a whole new game is being released. I just didn't feel that 12 new characters was worth $40. Sure, there's new stages and the "character balance" issues, but we'll address that later. Now, I know that releasing games in this fashion is nothing new (Street Fighter series, anyone?), but come on. Anyways, my friends seemed to really get upset over my comment. I can almost understand where they're coming from, but some of the stuff that was said just...I don't even know. Here's a quote:
"actually, i will say something. 1. balancing the characters is a great idea. if it wasnt for the fact that there r 4 characters u can spam all day with, u prolly wouldnt of won the tourney. 2. new maps r a great idea, seeing as the game is very visually pleasing, yet they only give u maybe ten levels to play on. 3. ud shell out the $40 dollars neway, cause if they did release dlc, they wouldnt release 12 characters in one. get over it, n buy it already. we know u will neway."
Poor spelling and grammar aside, I wonder if the points he makes are really that substantial. The first thing he mentions is a "tournament" I won. A mutual friend held a small, local fighting game tournament. There were only about 7 or 8 of us competing and we all knew one another for the most part. None of us were by any means pros at the games that were played, and I'm not even sure if anyone there had ever been in a tournament before this. Upon getting an invite to this event, my wife and I decided to practice in MvC3 a few weeks before the tournament. We wound up taking first and second place, which was a bit of an "upset" to some people there, because a few of the friends were considered, and I quote "really, really good."
But that's the thing. None of us were good. Hell, half of us button mashed the whole time, and I admit I did my fair share of button mashing. But of course now it's coming down to "Oh you won because you spam ez mode characers." The problem I have with this is that from the limited research I've done, few if any of the characters we used were considered by serious players as top tier characters. My team consisted of Amaterasu, Dante, and Wolverine. My wife used Amaterasu, Dante, and Trish. Two other teams included Sentinel, Akuma, and Zero and the gentleman who made the above comment used Amaterasu...and I can't even remember. I want to say Ammy Zero and...someone. Anyways, my point here is that I'm being accused of winning because I used characters I can "spam all day with" because the game is imbalanced. Oh, never mind the fact that the main character he's bitching about, Amaterasu, was included in his OWN TEAM. Am I mad, bro? Nah, I ain't even mad. I don't take shit like this seriously. It was a fun tournament. We all got a little drunk, played some video games and had a good time. I got my ass handed to me in Tekken 6, Soul Calibur 4, and Mortal Kombat.
Now on to the second point. New stages are great. Really? Do people really feel this way? It's not my place to say it is or is not a good idea, and I'm not going to do that. I personally couldn't care less about new stages. Do you know why? Because when I'm playing a fighting game I don't even notice what goddamn stage I'm on half the time. In a game where the environment is interactable I may care, but with something like MvC3 I really don't see the point. I mean, sure if I'm watching someone else play, stages may be neat, but if I'm playing against someone and I'm looking at the background I'm clearly doing something wrong. Ultimately, I don't feel that a hand full of new stages is enough to justify a new game at almost full normal retail price.
Next point? I'd shell out $40 anyways if it was DLC. Maybe. Probably not. If each character was released individually, I have the option of purchasing my favorites. Ghost Rider? Yes please. Strider? No thanks. Iron Fist? Hell yeah. Dr. Strange? Probably not. Don't get me wrong, though, if (and probably when) I get this game it WILL be for the new characters. Sure, I may not like or use them all, but oh well.
In the end, yes, I probably will buy this game, albeit reluctantly. I have a good feeling that half of the coming responses will be "You don't have to buy it, stop bitching," and that's fine. However, I promised a TL;DL version, and here it is. I'll leave you with this points for discussion.
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ACTUAL DISCUSSION TOPICS:
1) How do you feel about the "Street Fighter" model of releasing fighting games (releasing a new version of the same game at a lowered price every couple of months/years)?
2) What do you feel it takes to justify the purchase of said game?
3) How much do the stages in fighting games really affect you? Love them? Hate them? Don't care? Useless eye candy?
4) In a game where character balance may be off, but doesn't really effect you or the people in your skill bracket does it really matter?